Less-than-honorable moves

Chapter 7 Less-than-honorable moves

Mia hadn't expected Alphonse to have a way to deal with this.

She dared not let her guard down, as Keberie had not yet used her battle aura.

Alphonse seized the opportunity and thrust his sword straight at Keberie's throat.

Keberie quickly dodged, already drenched in a cold sweat.

I thought that Alphonse, this country bumpkin, was just a farmer and couldn't cultivate battle qi, so I could beat him into tears and beg for mercy in just a few sword strikes.

Who would have thought that a moment of carelessness would almost result in being stabbed?

With a fierce determination, he no longer held back, his fighting spirit instantly enveloping the sword, and he unleashed a horizontal slash.

A sharp, piercing whistling sound rang out.

Exceptionally sharp.

Keberie's sword strike was not only powerful, but also much faster.

Mia's sword was already drawn from its sheath, and the blade was immediately enveloped in a layer of sky-blue light.

Even if it means bearing the blame, she is determined to save Alphonse.

She couldn't let the lady be sad, and she couldn't let Alphonse die here!

At the same time, several guard knights were rapidly approaching Mia.

But the changes in the training ground once again surprised everyone.

Alphonse swiftly raised his hand to meet the oncoming sword strike.

Upon seeing the edge of Keberie's longsword distorting the air and swirling around it, an anomaly appeared.

Alphonse knew that he had activated his fighting spirit.

Instead of blocking head-on, his entire arm seemed to transform into a nimble snake.

Support, pinch, twist, rub, flick

His wrist flicked rapidly, slicing across the spine of the sword.

No sooner said than done.

In the blink of an eye, these rapid, consecutive strikes dissipated the fighting spirit on Keberi's longsword.

Seizing the opportunity, he grabbed Cabelli's wrist by the wrist.

To onlookers, it looked as if Keberi had deliberately placed his wrist in Alphonse's hand.

I just used the Soft Cloud Sword Technique, which I stole from the Wudang Sect.

This move, however, is a genuine external martial art from the Ten Directions Holy Sect.

Nine Dragons Fist, Swimming Dragon Stance!

A martial art that can be performed without requiring a great deal of internal energy.

Mia saw this and was pleasantly surprised. She turned her longsword around instead of swinging it.

Several guard knights who rushed forward quickly dodged.

A lightning-fast arc of light cleaved a deep trench in the ground.

"Crossing the line means death!"

Releasing battle aura is a unique skill that only swordsmen of the third rank or above can perform.

Mia wasn't the only one pleasantly surprised; Simon, who was anxious for Alphonse's safety, had already rushed forward several steps.

As Mia spoke, Keberie let out a muffled groan.

His eyes bulged out, staring wide-eyed.

His entire face was distorted.

His body involuntarily arched, shrinking like a shrimp, and he made a series of grunting sounds in his throat, but couldn't utter a complete sentence.

It was because he had taken a heavy kick to the lower body.

Although the groin kick is not exactly honorable, it always seems to work wonders.

Men suffer the most; anyone who's been beaten knows.

Before Alphonse mastered his martial arts in his previous life, this move was a common tactic he used with great skill.

The members of the Holy Cult—no, the Demonic Cult!—have no scruples whatsoever. If they can defeat their opponents, then any move is a good move.

Alphonse didn't care about manners or demeanor. Who said that the leader of a demonic sect had to have the bearing of a tyrant, or be extremely cunning and treacherous? That was just the wishful thinking of ordinary people, like the emperor's golden carrying pole.

The attack hadn't stopped when the sword flipped, and the spine of the blade slammed into Keberie's face.

The heavy blow sent several of Kebelli's teeth flying out of his mouth.

Then another sword slammed down from his head, knocking Keberie to the ground, where he immediately lost consciousness and fell silent.

If it were a sharp blade, Kebelli would be dead beyond any doubt.

At this point, we can't just kill this fool.

He's the beloved son of Baron Aldrich next door; if he were to die, Baron Aldrich would go mad.

Coldwind Territory is not ready to face a war.

The guards were stunned to see Keberie fall down in the short time they had dodged. They stood there dumbfounded, looking at each other in disbelief.

A gasp of surprise rose from all around. None of the noble young masters and ladies had expected Alphonse to win.

He was still unharmed, and seemed to have won with exceptional ease.

A young nobleman finally realized what was happening and couldn't help but yell at Alphonse, "How could you kick Keberie there? That's so...so filthy! So ungentlemanly!"

They couldn't see the Nine Dragons Fist clearly, but they saw the groin kick very clearly.

No nobleman would resort to such methods.

Alphonse glared at him. "Want to get kicked too?"

The noble youth immediately shut up. What a joke! Keberi had already learned to use battle aura, while he didn't have that ability yet. It was already quite generous of him to agree to lend out his own guard knights to help restrain the Tartarus family's knights.

A country bumpkin is a country bumpkin!

That's so barbaric!

I was just there to cheer on Cabello and watch this country bumpkin get humiliated. The night before, at the party, Cabello had confidently declared that he was going to win the duel. Little did I expect that I would be the one to be beaten down.

"The outcome is clear: Alphonse of House Tartarus has won!" Faeren stepped forward and announced the result of the duel.

He still smiled brightly, then turned to Alphonse and said with a smile, "Alphonse, you've been hiding your true abilities well. If it weren't for this duel, I wouldn't have known you possessed such formidable swordsmanship. Did Baron Tartarus teach you?"

"Hmm." Alphonse nodded.

"I'll be hosting a cocktail party soon, and I'll have someone send you an invitation. Remember to come!"

Having made all the necessary gestures, Alphonse wanted to see what he was really up to. "Alright, how about we go sit in my castle?"

"No need, I have other matters to attend to and must return." Ferren smiled again, "Next time we meet, I should address you as Your Excellency, Baron."

As they were talking, guard knights came over and carried Keberie away.

Keberie was unconscious and seriously injured. They had no intention of lingering in Coldwind Territory and just wanted to get back to their territory as quickly as possible for treatment.

Alphonse didn't answer immediately, and Feren assumed that the mention of inheriting the title reminded him of his father's death, so he apologized and didn't continue.

Apart from Feren, who feigned friendliness and approached him, Alphonse had no intention of entertaining anyone else.

They're all here to make a fool of themselves, why bother with them?

After giving Simon and Thompson, who had come to congratulate him, some instructions and telling them to continue training, Alphonse led Mia toward the castle.

As he passed the ditch on the side of the field, Alphonse couldn't help but take a second look.

The ravines are both deep and wide, and their power is considerable.

Gangmiya's shouts still reached my ears; this girl is quite domineering.

The power of her slash, unleashed from a distance, would probably require mastering the second level of the Innate Formless Divine Art to match.

Is there really such a big difference between the first and third levels of Battle Qi?

"Where did you learn swordsmanship?" Mia finally couldn't contain her curiosity and asked.

"While drinking at a tavern, I met a bard. I bought him a few drinks, and he taught me some things," Alphonse said, spouting nonsense.

Believe it or not, I believe it.

(End of this chapter)